A yeast two-hybrid screen identifies histone H2A.Z as a transcription factor ZNF24 interactor

ZNF24 is a pleiotropic factor that has a role in transcription regulation, hematopoiesis, brain development, and cancers, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its functions are not clearly understood. In this study, histone variant H2A.Z has been identified in yeast-two-hybrid assays with ZNF24 as bait. GST pull-down, co-immunoprecipitation and co-localization assays confirm the interaction between ZNF24 and H2A.Z. H2A.Z has been implicated in many diverse biological processes. High expression of H2A.Z is ubiquitously detected in the progression of breast cancer, and is significantly associated with lymph node metastasis and patient survival. Thus, our results provide important information for the molecular mechanisms of ZNF24 functions and suggest that ZNF24 may be is implicated in transcriptional regulation of genes associated with oncogenesis by interaction with H2A.Z.